History seeks a benefactor
Time, historiography, political correctness, and the U.S. government are robbing the South and America of our history.
by Mark Vogl
(conservative)
Wednesday, January 25, 2012You could be a person who started out with nothing, and through the grace of God, hard work and opportunity you earned a fortune. You could be a person who one day went down and bought a lottery ticket which brought you vast sums of money. You could be someone born into a family of great wealth. Whichever you are, if you have a deep love of the South and would like to use your blessings from God for good purpose, than get a cup of coffee, and let’s visit awhile.
You see, it’s the 150th Anniversary (2010 – 2015) of the great war over the American Constitution. Most folks call it the Civil War, but there are names much more accurate. The war could have been called the War for Southern Independence, or the War of Lincoln’s Conquest. I kind of like the War of the American Constitution because it provides an opportunity for people to consider the origins of the nation, and to study seriously what did the Founding Fathers originally mean? And if one does that, then one can see how far the united States has moved from the original confederation of states, to what is now a monster, crushing liberty and freedom, and promising material equality.
I guess it goes back to my childhood when history teachers would say, "We learn history, so we won’t repeat it." Given today’s politically correct revisionist interpretations, it is almost certain we will repeat the actual history that occurred, since so few people know what it was!
But, anyway, back to the point of the article.
In the early twentieth century, there were museums all over the South. And, since they were financed privately, or commercially, and the story of the Ole Confederacy was popular, well, you could find aspects of the real history of the South. You think not? You think I josh? Look at Six Flags Amusement park; the original one in Dallas. How was that park originally set up? By the different flags which flew over Texas; Spain, France, Mexico, the Texas Republic, the American Flag and the Confederate flag over the history of the Lone Star state. And the park had a Southern portion (my wife worked there on opening day)…though the Southern portion is no longer active. Wouldn’t be politically correct, don’t you know?
Well, there is history here in Texas little known to the rest of the world, despite the fact that the American Civil War is one of the most written about eras in history. You see, most of the war occurred east of the Mississippi River in the areas of Virginia, Kentucky – Tennessee, and then into the deep South with Sherman’s March to the Sea and rape of the Carolina’s and Georgia. And of course there was fighting in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi…New Orleans and Vicksburg being two of the most important battles of the war.
But, west of the Mississippi, well that was known as the Trans Mississippi theatre. A huge vast expanse of America, this area was less populated, less settled. The war in the Trans Mississippi would be more savage, more personal in some respects. In fact, did you know the prewar years were dominated by what occurred west of the Mississippi in Kansas and Missouri? Did you know those areas acted as a training ground for terrorism? Sure did.
John Brown, an abolitionist martyr killed a few folks in the Kansas- Missouri area. He used short swords to slaughter men in front of their wives and children. And no. those men didn’t own slaves. Just believed it was the law of the land, but that was enough to be butchered by John Brown. Yea, he’s the same terrorist that attempted to start a slave revolt at Harper’s Ferry.
Well, you can see there’s lots of stories to tell here in the Trans Mississippi. In fact, I wrote an earlier article about the Trans Mississippi which you could look at. You might be truly astounded at what you find. You want an example? Well, did you ever hear the story of Dick Dowling, and the 47 Irish Catholics who defeated a union Armada of more than twenty ships and five thousand Yankees at the Battle of Sabine Pass, Texas in September, 1863. Yes sir, and you know what else, all them Irishmen lived to tell about it. I know…you know the story of the Alamo and Davie Crockett and Jim Bowie. But almost no one knows the story of Dick Dowling and the Irish!
But that’s just one tiny, one day event, in the great history of the war in the Trans Mississippi. There’s so much more to tell, so go to my earlier article to get a broader view.
Now as far as you the benefactor, and how would we tell this story? Well, sir, (or Madame) here’s the low down!
Just 90 miles inside Texas, just off Interstate 20, half way ‘tween Shreveport, Louisiana and Dallas, Texas is Tyler, Texas. Now, Tyler is a beautiful small American city. For close to a century she has hosted the Rose Festival, an event of national and international renown. The crowning of the Rose Queen has drawn beautiful young women from New England, Europe and the Middle East. It is one of the most sophisticated and lovely week long cultural festivals in the entire South. But, it’s a secret.
Another secret about Tyler is Camp Ford Training and Prisoner of War Camp, Confederate States of America. This was the largest Confederate POW Camp west of the Mississippi. POW’s from battles on the Gulf Coast, in Louisiana, and Arkansas were brought here. Yankee sailors taken from ships operating in the brown river waters in Louisiana and from the Battle at Sabine Pass were brought here. Men from all over the US mid-west were brought to Camp Ford.
A group of folks from East Texas, the Camp Ford Historical Association, have been working together for decades to raise sufficient monies to build a museum in Tyler. They have made progress, real progress in terms of dollars and facilities purchased. But the vision for the museum is larger than a POW Camp. The vision for this museum is the entire Trans Mississippi. The story to be told here would encompass tales from California and Oregon to Mexico and the Gulf. Did you know the only Confederate naval victory at sea, between a Confederate and Federal warship, the C.S.S. Alabama, and a union warship, the U.S.S. Hatteras occurred off Galveston? There are so many stories., and so much of the South to tell. And, if we were to find a benefactor, or benefactors we could stay away from federal money and corruptive influence on history that government money brings.
The Camp Ford Historical Association advertises in the Civil War magazine, and has members from all over the nation. About two years back they engaged the Texas Media Group to create three different length audio-visual DVD stories about Camp Ford to help promote its history and describe its potential.
The Association engaged an architect to do preliminary design work. This is not a group of people meeting for coffee. Real work has been done. Lee Lawrence, deceased husband of one of the board members Ann, co-authored a book with Dr. Bob Glover, about Camp Ford whichh has been published and is available for purchase.
You could be the person, or one of the persons who could make this museum a reality. It could be God favored you, so you could help preserve the true and factual history of the old Confederacy.
America is, or was, a great nation. Its story is full, and a lot of it is either untold, or little known. So much is left to be done. If you have been looking for a Cause, here is one. You need only search the Camp Ford Historical Association on the internet if you wish to make contact.
And if you do not possess the wealth to make this a reality, but want to help, we will go the road that God has provided for us. If it takes thousands of Americans, tens of thousands of Americans to make this happen, if that’s God’s plan…than let’s get on with it.
©2012 Mark Vogl
On The Web: http://www.nolanchart.com/article9312-history-seeks-a-benefactor.html